Thomas Brown had less than a week to prepare after Shane Waldron was fired as offensive coordinator. Despite that, he still managed to produce a game plan that had Caleb Williams post his most efficient game of the season, the team rush for over 170 yards, and go 9-of-16 on third down. It was night and day compared to the previous three weeks. That led to people asking the obvious question. What in the world would have convinced the Bears that Waldron was the right guy for the job if it had become clear he wasn’t this fast?
Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune added a new layer to the situation. He believes there is a strong possible Trace Armstrong, the prominent NFL agent who represents several coaches, likely played a crucial role in that. How? It turns out he represents both Waldron and Matt Eberflus. Apparently, those things have mattered to the Bears in the past.
In the fallout and examination of where Matt Eberflus went wrong in choosing Waldron as the replacement for Luke Getsy, there are a lot of directions you can go. Waldron was one of nine candidates the Bears interviewed for the job. From that respect, it wasn’t a hasty and rushed process. Eberflus and GM Ryan Poles flew all over the country meeting with candidates.
Waldron was the only option invited for a second interview, for which he came to Halas Hall before being hired. The fact that Waldron is also a client of powerful agent Trace Armstrong, the former Bears defensive end, is one factor worth examining. The Bears have a history of having the head coach and offensive coordinator represented by the same agent.
Shane Waldron is the latest plague visited by Trace Armstrong.
While he might be a former Bear, the man has terrorized the organization with his horrible clients for years. He was also Matt Nagy’s agent. The team’s willingness to keep leaning on him for advice has led them directly down the sewage pipe. You’d think somebody in the organization would’ve picked up on it. Maybe the Shane Waldron disaster might wake them up to the realization that Armstrong may not have the sharpest eye for coaching talent. The problem is if Ryan Poles stays in charge, it may be more of the same. He is also an Armstrong client. If that isn’t cause for a complete housecleaning, nothing is. The Bears have seven more games before they have to make a decision. Losing his phone number should be priority #1. That client list is radioactive.
What cave does Lambert live in. This is like reporting that now we know why the NY skyline changed in 2001. This has been discussed endlessly for two years now. How is this the missing Zepruder film to you?
@JFK WAS AFK, absolutely not. Boras clients are the biggest in the game. None of the top coaches in the NFL are Armstrong clients. Just go on wiki and see the impressive list of his clients. Mike McCarthy and a bunch of mediocre college coaches.
@BearDownTX — The Steelers’ LB Payton Wilson vs. the Bears’ Tremaine Edmunds “contest” continues with PFF ranking Wilson as their #20 LB (69.8 grade) and Tremaine Edmunds as #67 (55.8) — through NFL Week #11. For added perspective TJ Edwards is ranked #40 (64.8) and Fred Warner is #1 (91.1) of 82 graded LBs. Tremaine was brutal versus Green Bay — and I use the word “brutal” not in a good way. Payton’s interception off Lamar Jackson can be viewed all over the internet. And GM Ryan Poles is paying only $17 million a year (of “cheap” Ms. Virginia’s money)… Read more »
Is Trace Armstrong the Scott Boras of NFL coaching???
It’s not that Armstrong lacks the eye for coaching talent, he doesn’t care about that. He cares about them getting hired because if they get hired Armstrong gets paid. Of course he’s going to talk his client up, and he also knows he’s got a certain pull over the Chicago Bears knowing their personnel as well as he does.
The lesson here is, don’t be persuaded by Agents because an agent isn’t going to give you their true opinion. They are like car salesman trying to sell you a car and that’s it.